Pet Tiger
by Villains' Bad Girl
Summary: Frida is a tiger who was raised in a human tribe. What happens when she comes face to face with her kind again? Ice Age AU Diego/OC
1. Frida

_Hey-O! Welcome to my first Ice Age fic! Before anyone says anything, I wrote this long before Continental Drift came out, so Shira won't exist in my fics, not yet at least. This series will go through all of the movies and Shira will appear eventually. I own nothing except Frida._

* * *

Frida meowed as she playfully batted her mother's nose. Tasha smiled and licked her three-month-old daughter. She watched the sun shine over her dark black fur and twinkle in her blue eyes. It was Frida's first day outside her cave and she was loving every minute of it. She ran around her mother's legs as she looked at everything new around her. Tasha chuckled as she watched Frida trip, her baby fangs digging into the dirt.

"Be careful", Tasha said. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't, Mommy", Frida said.

Tasha was very paranoid when it came to her only daughter. They were the last of their pack, after the death of Frida's father, whom she never even had the chance to see. Tasha didn't want to lose the last thing she had in this world. She nuzzled her and playfully growled, chasing Frida.

"Mommy!" Frida giggled.

Tasha smiled. Her smile faded as her ear twitched. She heard faint voices in the air. Tasha raised her nose to the air and smelled. There was the scent of smoke in the air. That could only mean one thing…humans were close by.

"Mommy?"

"Come on, Frida", Tasha said, picking up her daughter by the back of her neck. "We're going home."

"But, why?" Frida asked.

"It's not safe here."

Tasha carried Frida to their cave. She set her daughter down in the back corner before turning back. The voices could still be heard and the smoke was coming closer. The humans were coming.

"Frida, I need you to stay here", Tasha said. "Mommy will be back."

"Are you going hunting?" Frida asked.

"I'm just going to keep you safe."

Tasha licked her daughter's face before turning away. Frida curled up in the cave as she watched her mother run off. She looked around waiting for her to come back, hopefully with something to eat.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set. Frida laid curled, shivering as the wind blew into the cave. She looked around wondering where Tasha was. Her stomach growled loud. Frida got up and stuck her head outside the cave.

"Mommy?" she called out. "Mommy!"

Frida stepped out and looked around.

"Mommy, where are you?" she called out.

She walked further away from the cave looking for Tasha. Frida wandered around the woods as she called out for her mother. As the sky grew dark, she could see a trail of smoke as well as a glow. She ran toward the glow, hoping she'd find Tasha.

"Mommy?"

Frida gasped as she reached the opening of the woods. In front of her was a herd of humans. They were sitting around a fire, eating freshly cooked meat. A few wolves sat around the fire eating as well. A few humans sat as they picked up a large tiger pelt.

"Mommy", Frida gasped.

She meowed weakly as she stepped forward. The wolves turned and growled. The humans turned and picked up their spears. Frida cried as she crouched and covered her eyes. The humans ran toward her with the spear. Frida uncovered her eyes as she saw a female human stop them. The female human knelt down and gently touched her head. Frida pressed her head into her head. The gentle touch felt so nice.

The human picked her up and began petting her fur. Frida began to purr. The human smiled as she held her close and carried her to her hut.

_This may not be home with Mommy, but what choice to I have?_ Frida thought. _I guess I'll have to make the best of this._


	2. Soto's Plan

The tribe of humans sat around the fire smiling as they told stories. One of them got up and went back to his hut where a female human stood holding a baby. Frida who was laying beside the hut smiled as she rose her head.

Frida had been living with the humans for nearly three years. She had gone from a young cub, to a fully grown saber. Her black fur was as sleek as ever, and her fangs had grown down to her chin. Her eyes still had the same innocence they held when she was a cub. She had a comfortable life with the humans. Three meals a day and she was even treated as a member of their family. Around Frida's neck, she wore a charm necklace given to her by the female human.

She smiled as she watched the female human knelt down and put set the baby on her feet. The baby went by the name Roshan. He was nearly a year old and was learning how to walk. Frida watched as the baby took one step before falling over. Luckily his father caught him before he hit the ground.

Frida loved her life with the humans and forgot about life in the wild. She had forgotten most of her animal instincts, or if she remembered, she didn't bother to act. Otherwise, Frida would've noticed the two pairs of eyes watching from over the hill. No one else knew about the two sabers watching the tribe.

* * *

"Look at the cute little baby, Diego", Soto said. "Isn't it nice he'll be joining us for breakfast?"

"It wouldn't be breakfast without him", Diego answered.

"Especially since his daddy wiped out half our pack and wears our skin to keep warm. An eye for an eye, don't you think?"

"We'll show that human what happens when he messes with sabers", Diego growled.

"Alert the troops", Soto said. "We attack at dawn."

Diego turned to head back to their pack. Soto looked over the tribe, focusing on the family in interest.

"Diego, bring me that baby…alive. If I'm going to enjoy my revenge, I want it to be fresh."

"What about the female?" Diego asked as he turned back, his eyes landing on Frida.

The males watched her with interest. The humans petted back her fur like she was a common pet. Their eyes narrowed and their ears flattened against their heads as Frida nuzzled the baby with a smile on her face. Soto growled as he tried to think of what to do with her.

"The way she acts, she's a disgrace to sabers", he said. "She's nothing but a pet. But still…she could be useful. Leave her to me."

Diego glanced at Soto before looking back at Frida. She followed the humans into their hut. She was pretty. It would be a shame if she ended up getting hurt. He sighed as he turned away to return to the pack.


	3. The Pack

Deigo looked over what was left of the pack. Other than him and Soto, there were three other males. Oscar, who thought he was better than Diego in every way possible. Zeke, a scrawny saber who was going mad with the hunger. Lenny, a large saber who was very quiet and obedient, especially when it came to food. The rest of the pack had been wiped out by the humans.

"Humans", Oscar sighed. "When is Soto going to get over his obsession with humans?"

"We could be hitting that migration that just went south", Lenny agreed.

"Oh, don't even talk about it", Zeke shuddered. "It makes my teeth itch!"

Diego rolled his eyes and approached them.

"Listen up!" he said. "We attack the humans at dawn."

He glared as Zeke began laughing.

"See? You See? That's just what we were saying!"

"What about that walking buffet heading south?" Lenny asked.

"You'll be a walking buffet if you don't do what Soto says", Diego growled as he stepped closer toward him.

"Then let's get the orders from Soto", Oscar said approaching Diego. "Why should we have to hear it from you?"

"Because Diego's the only one I trust!"

Everyone looked up to see Soto looking down at them with a frown on his face. He growled as he approached the pack.

"You mangy pack of worthless kittens...those humans are heading back to Glacier Pass. This is our chance to send them a message they won't forget. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, yes!" Zeke said smiling. "Send your message. Have your revenge. Please, whatever you wa-"

Soto growled and hit him over the head, shutting him up. He turned to the rest of the pack.

"Get some rest", he said. "Diego will give you your marching orders at dawn."

The pack turned and glared at Diego as Soto walked to his cave. They were all jealous Soto chose him as his second-in-command over all of them. Diego looked at them and smirked knowing there was nothing they could do without getting in trouble with Soto. He turned and followed Soto. His thoughts went back to the female saber with the humans.

"What do you plan on doing with the female?" he asked.

"She looks young from what we saw", Soto said. "She could prove useful."

"Soto, you're not thinking of mating with her, are you?"

"I am. We can use her and repopulate the pack. Bring it back to its former glory."


	4. Attack at Dawn

_For anyone who wanted to know what Frida looks like, that picture on top is my own drawing of her_

* * *

Frida softly purred as she laid curled around the baby. It was dawn and everyone in the tribe was sound asleep. All was quiet. Frida's ear twitched as she heard movement coming from inside the hut. She opened her eyes to see what was going on. The wolves outside were barking. She raised her head as she watched the male human get up and run outside. There was obviously trouble. Frida got up and looked outside to see what was going on. She saw the humans fighting a pack of tigers who snuck into the tribe.

Frida ran back inside, helping the female to her feet. She gasped as she heard footsteps coming toward the hut. Frida and the human watched as an orange male tiger walked into the hut. Frida couldn't help but stare. He was the first saber she had seen in years. He actually...looked handsome. Frida snapped out of her gaze as the saber approached the baby. Frida jumped and tackled him, allowing the female human to grab the baby and run.

Diego growled as Frida kept him pinned as the humans ran out of the hut.

"Get off me!" he growled.

He kicked her off and ran after the humans. Frida growled and ran after him. The female was running toward the river with the baby in her arms.

"Leave them alone!" Frida yelled.

Frida jumped in front of the female human ready to fight Diego. Only problem was she had never fought before in her life. She had no idea how to start. Diego reached out to scratch her but ended up cutting her charm necklace off. Frida turned and nudged the human letting her know to run away. She followed her, making sure Diego wouldn't harm her or the baby. Frida stopped when they reached the waterfall. There was nowhere else to run.

Diego smiled as he approached them. He had them trapped now. Frida turned to see Diego baring his teeth ready to attack. She turned to see the human glaring at Diego almost challengingly. She hugged the baby tight and jumped over the waterwall, into the river below. Diego and Frida gasped and looked down trying to see if they could find them. Frida ran off trying to get down to the river to help them. Diego growled in frustration, heading back to the pack

* * *

Diego stopped at the top of the hill. The humans released the wolves to attack the pack. Soto turned and saw him.

"There's Diego!" he said to the pack. "Fall back!"

The sabers turned and ran to meet Diego on the hill. Soto looked around for the baby and the female saber, noticing neither were there.

"Where's the baby?" he asked. "And the female?"

"I lost them over the falls", Diego grumbled.

"You lost them?!"

The sabers looked back when they saw the humans throwing spears at them. They were running the the wolves leading the way. The pack started running to get away.

"I want the baby and the female, Diego", Soto said.

"I'll get them", Diego answered.

"You'd better, unless you want to serve yourself as a replacement. We'll go up to Half Peak. Meet us there. They'd better be alive."

Soto ran off leading the pack. Oscar stopped and raise his eyebrow.

"Can we trust you with that, Diego?" he smuggly asked.

Diego growled lowly. He hated Oscar's attitude when it came to him. He turned away and ran toward the river to find Frida and the baby


	5. Manny and Sid

Frida panted as she ran to the bottom of the hill, running to the river. She looked by the waterfall to find the female human and Roshan. Her eyes searched the rushing water for any sign of them. Frida gasped as she heard water splashing a few feet away from her. She rushed to see the female holding onto a a log with one arm and held the baby close to her with her other arm.

The female breathed heavily as she looked up. She smiled weakly as she saw Frida, but she moved her eyes to see a large brown mammoth and a green sloth watching them. Frida saw them but paid them no mind. The humans were more important at the moment. She approached the female as she slowly pulled herself to shore. The female looked horrible, like she was going to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. She laid her baby on solid ground and pushed him to safety. The mammoth pulled the baby away from the water, earning a smile from the human.

"Roshan?" Frida side pushing past the mammoth. "Roshan?"

To everyone's surprise, the baby had been sleeping through everything that happened. He squirmed as he opened his eyes and looked at the animals in above him. He smiled and giggled.

"Look at that", the sloth said amazed. "He's okay!"

They raised their eyes to see the mother was no longer by the shore. Frida gasped and stepped into the water looking down the river to see where she was. The human was exhausted. Could she have just let herself go and let her life end in the river?

"She's gone", the sloth sadly said.

Frida's ears flattened against her head as she turned and walked back to the baby.

"Thanks for helping", she said. "I'll take it from here."

"You?" the mammoth and sloth said.

"You're a tiger", the sloth said. "How do we know you're not going to eat him?"

"I just helped his mother, didn't I? Surely you can tell I'm not going to hurt him."

The mammoth shrugged as he turned away.

"Hey, wait!" the sloth said. "Manny, aren't you forgetting something?"

"No", Manny said.

"But...but you just saved him!"

"Yeah, well I'm still trying to get rid of the last thing I saved", he said glaring at the sloth.

"You can't leave him here."

"No", Frida said nuzzling the baby's face. "His father will be looking for him. He'll be looking for me too. I got to get him back."

"Let me help", the sloth said. "You can always count on Sid the Sloth. And what's your name?"

"Frida."

She was thankful Sid had hands as she watched him pick up the baby. He looked up the waterfall seeing the smoke from the humans' campfire.

"Look, there's smoke!" he said. "That's his herd right up the hill."

Sid turned back to Manny talking about returning the baby. Manny glared and turned.

"Let's get something straight here, okay?" he asked. "There is no we. There never was a we. In fact, without me, there wouldn't even be a you!"

"Will you help us out, please?" Frida asked. "Just this once?"

"Listen very carefully", Manny said lifting his trunk in front of them. "I'm...not...going."

"Fine, be a jerk!" Sid said turning to Frida. "We'll take care of him."


	6. Diego

_Hey-O! I've been looking around and I decided if Frida was a real character, I'd want her to be voiced by Liv Tyler_

* * *

Frida watched nervously as Sid walked to the rock wall of the waterfall. Why did he choose to go the hard way to the humans? She looked to the side to see the hill she took to get from the humans' settlement to the river.

"Excuse me, Sid", said as he started to climb up the rocks with the baby in his hand. "Are you sure you want to go up that way? You know there's a hill that way we could go up."

Sid didn't seem to hear as Sid climbed up the rocks. Manny rolled his eyes and watched.

"You're an embarassment to nature, do you know that?" he asked.

"This is cake!" Sid answered with a smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm going to die..."

"What was that?" Frida asked.

She and Manny watched as Sid climbed higher and higher. They gasped as they saw the little sleeping bag opened and the baby started falling out.

"Oh, my", Frida gasped. "Roshan!"

"Manny!" Sid yelled as the baby began to fall.

Manny held out his trunk to catch him, but something else caught him. The orange saber from that morning held the baby tightly in his mouth. Manny hit him in the jaw with his trunk, pulling the baby away. Frida growled as her fur stood on end, however Diego didn't seem to notice her.

"Ahem...um, that pink thing is mine", he said pointing to the baby.

"Uh, no", Sid said climbing down. "Actually, that pink thing belongs to us."

"Us?" Diego watched as Sid fell down the rocks. "You two are a bit of an odd couple."

"There is no us!" Manny yelled at Sid.

Frida shook her head and growled at Diego as she stood in front of the baby.

"You?" he asked.

"That's right, me", she said. "I know what you want, and I'm not letting you have him."

"The baby? Please. I was returning him to his heard."

"Oh, yeah", Sid laughed picking up the baby. "Nice try, buck-tooth."

"You calling me a liar?" Diego asked.

"I didn't say that."

"You were thinking it."

Frida rolled her eyes.

"I know you wanted to eat him", she said. "Why else were you at the settlement this morning?"

Diego watched as Frida narrowed her eyes at him as her ears flattened against her head. So she wasn't as dumb as she looked. What explanation could he use to convince the mammoth and sloth that he wasn't bad?

"Look", he lied. "I had nothing to do with what those sabers were doing. I had no intentions of hurting the baby."

"Yeah, right", Frida said turning away from him.

"Name's Diego, friend", Diego said turning to the others.

"Manfred", Manny replied. "And I'm not your friend."

"Fine...Manfred. If you're looking for the humans, you're wasting your time. They left this morning."

Frida turned her head sharply and looked at him. The humans left without her and the baby? Why would they do that? How would he know that.

"How do you know they left?" Frida asked.

"Saw them myself", he said. "Already heading to Glacier Pass."

"Thanks for the advice", Manny said. "Now beat it."

He turned to her and Sid and looked at them very annoyed.

"Alright, I'll help you bring it to its herd", he said. "But promise me you'll leave me alone after that?"

"Okay, okay deal", Sid said. "Hey, what's your problem?"

"You are my problem", Manny said.

The four of them walked to the hill Frida suggested to get to the humans' settlement. Diego stood by the river watching as they took the baby with them. Frida looked over her shoulder and growled at him. Diego growled back as he watched her leave.


	7. The Journey Begins

Sid was fumbling around with the baby trying to climb up the hill without being seen by any humans that might be there. Frida shook her head watching as Sid made things more difficult than they had to be.

"What are you doing?" Manny asked. "Just drop it on the ledge."

Manny used his trunk to pull the baby from Sid's arms and dropped it on the ledge of the hill. Frida walked past them, following as the baby began crawling away.

"Shouldn't we make sure they found him?" Sid asked.

"Good idea", Manny said picking up Sid with his trunk.

"No, no, wait! No, no, wait, wait! Don't spear me!"

Sid covered his face as Manny threw him onto the ledge. Frida rolled her eyes and looked around at the settlement, barely realizing what had happened. Sid knew it was bad too.

"Oh, this is a problem", he said.

"Oh, that's perfect", Manny grumbled as he looked at the settlement as well.

All the huts were taken down, practically everything was gone. Even the humans. So that Diego tiger was right. The humans had left without Frida and Roshan. Frida followed the baby as he crawled through the empty camp. She sighed and sat down watching as he crawled to what was left of their hut. What a mess. His mother was gone and his father had knowingly left him behind. Frida quickly stood as she saw a large paw step toward them.

"I told you they were gone."

"What are you doing here?" Frida growled.

"Look, I know I jumped you this morning, but I had orders", Diego said. "You'd do the same if you were in my position."

"I wouldn't know", she said turning away.

"Oh, look who it is", Manny frowned. "Don't you have some poor defenseless animal to disembowel?"

"They couldn't be far", Sid pointing his fingers in opposite directions. "Maybe they went this way or this way, or maybe..."

"You don't know much about track, do you?" Diego asked.

"Hey, I'm a sloth", he said picking up a stick. "I see a tree, eat a leaf. That's my tracking."

Diego shook his head and looked at Frida.

"What about you?" he asked. "You're a saber. You should know about tracking."

"Actually, I don't", she answered. "I never had to track before in my life. Show me how it's done, oh great tracker."

Diego's ears flattened against his head. This tiger had an attitude and he was getting real sick of it.

"You didn't miss them by much", he said picking up a blade of grass used for the baby's bed. "It's still green. They headed north two hours ago."

"Hey, it's still green", Sid said putting the sticks in his mouth, making fun of Diego. "They headed north two hours ago."

Frida laughed watching him. The baby laughed as well, falling over onto a fireplace, catapulting a dead fish onto Manny's face. Diego shook his head approaching the baby.

"You don't need this aggrivation", he said. "Give me the baby. I can track humans down a lot faster than you can."

"And you're just a good citizen helping out, right?" Manny said pulling the baby away.

"I just know where the humans are going."

"Glacier Pass", Frida said. "We all know they have a settlement on the other side. I'll take the baby there where we both belong."

"Unless you know how to track, you're never going to reach them before the pass closes up with snow", Diego said. "Which should be like, tomorrow. So you can give that baby to me or go get lost in a blizzard. It's your choice."

Frida glared at him. She had absolutely no reason to trust Diego, especially after that morning. She watched as Manny picked up the baby, giving it to Sid.

"There's your little bundle of joy", he said. "We're returning it to the humans."

Sid held the baby smiling as he began taunting Diego.

"Aw, the big, bad tigey-wigey gets left behind", he said petting him. "Poor tigey-wigey."

"Sid, tigey-wigey's going to lead the way", Manny said.

Frida's fur stood on end as she looked at the smirk Diego was giving, showing off his fangs. Sid had the same reaction too, running to Manny.

"Uh, Manny can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

"No! The sooner we find the humans, the sooner I get rid of Mr. Stinky Dool Face. And the baby too."

Frida rushed to Sid and the baby as Diego walked toward them, circling them.

"You won't always have Jumbo around to protect you", he said. "When that day comes, I suggest you watch your back...cause I'll be chewing on it."

"Not if I chew on yours first", Frida growled.


	8. Where's the Baby?

The four animals walked through the empty land for a good couple hours. Their comfortable silence was interrupted as the baby began crying. Frida walked close to Sid who was carrying the baby to see if she could cheer him up. They walked, letting the baby cry for a good 20 minutes until they thought their ears were going to bleed.

"Oh, you got to make it stop", Manny moaned. "I can't take it anymore!"

"I've eaten things that didn't complain this much!" Diego yelled.

"Yeah, I bet!" Frida said.

"He won't stop squirming", Sid said as he held the baby upside down.

"You're holding him wrong!" Frida said. "Watch his head!"

"Just put him down!" Diego said.

Sid laid the baby on a rock in front of them. The four of them gathered around looking at him trying to figure what was wrong. Frida nuzzled the baby trying to make him happy until they figured out why he was crying.

"Its nose is dry", Diego said.

"That means something's wrong with him", Sid said.

"Someone should lick it...just in case."

"Humans are supposed to have dry noses", Frida said. "Don't you dare lick him."

"Hey, he's wearing one of those baby thingies", Manny said pointing out.

"So?" Sid asked.

"So, if he poops, where does it go?" he asked.

Frida and Diego backed away from the baby immediately. Sid who was holding the baby held him at an arm's length away from him.

"Humans are disgusting", he said.

"Okay, you check for poop", Manny said.

"Why am I the poop checker?" Sid asked.

"Because returning the runt was your idea, because you're small and insignificant and because I'll pummel you if you don't."

"Why else?" he asked.

"Now, Sid!"

"Oh, boy", Frida said covering her eyes.

"What's with you?" Diego asked.

"It's never pretty", she answered. "Trust me, it's best if you keep away."

"Alright, look out", Sid said picking up the baby's diaper. "Look out, coming through."

Everyone backed away as Sid began waving it around. He smirked as he tossed it onto Manny's face. He laughed as he picked up the baby laughing at his joke. Manny hit him over the head with his trunk, making Sid's face go funny.

"Will you gut it out?" he said.

The baby laughed looking at Sid's face. Sid shook it off, making the baby cry again.

"Hey, do that again", Diego said. "He likes it."

Manny hit Sid over the head again. Sid's face went funny making the baby laugh.

"It's making me feel better too", Manny said smiling for the first time since they all met.

"Here, you hold it", Sid said holding the baby out to Diego.

Diego made a fist, hitting him over the head. The baby giggled and raised his hand trying to hit him too. Sid frowned and grabbed the baby's hand, making him cry again. He laid the baby back down on the rock.

"Here", Diego said pushing him away. "Turn him towards me."

Frida watched worried about what he might've had in mind. Diego stood in front of the baby, covering his eyes.

"Where's the baby?" he said before uncovering his eyes. "There he is! Where's the baby? There he is!"

The baby cried hard. Frida growled as she punched Diego's shoulder.

"You big jerk, you're scaring him!" she said.

The baby stopped crying as his stomach began growling.

"I bet he's hungry."

"How about some milk?" Manny asked.

"Ooh, I'd love some!" Sid smiled.

"Not you!" Diego said. "The baby!"

"Well, I ain't exactly lactating right now, pal."

The males turned to Frida looking at her with smiles.

"Not me!" Frida said backing up. "Females don't have milk until after they have babies."

"Enough!" Manny said tired of all the crying, yelling and arguing.

Everyone's ears twitched as they heard something fall. They turned to see a watermellon fresh from the vine.

"Food!"

Manny picked up the mellon with his trunk, but right away a dodo bird jumped out of a bush, grabbing the mellon out of his trunk. It ran off with the mellon, leaving everyone looked confused about what just happened.


	9. The Dodos

The animals followed the dodo interested on getting the watermelon back. They were surprised to see an entire flock of dodos. They seemed to be training for something important, marching around and doing exercises.

"Prepare for the Ice Age!" a dodo announced.

"Ice Age?" Sid asked.

"I've heard of these crackpots", Diego said.

"Look", Frida said pointing below them.

Below them, they spotted the dodo that stole the melon. He took it to a stump where two other melons sat. He looked beside him, noticing Manny's shadow and looked up to see all five creatures. He squawked running off to warn the other dodos.

"Intruders! Intruders!"

"Hey, can we have our melon back?" Manny asked. "Junior's hungry."

"No way!" another dodo yelled standing over the melons. "This is our private stockpile for the Ice Age. Subarctic temperatures will force us underground for a million billion years!"

"So you got three melons?"

The dodos looked at the melons obviously realizing they don't have nearly enough food for all of them. The lead dodo turned back glaring at Manny.

"If you weren't smart enough to plan ahead, then doom on you!"

The dodos walked toward Manny, menacingly while chanting doom on you. Frida growled watching them step closer. Manny looked at them knowing they were crazy and backed away.

"Get away from me!" he said.

The dodo standing over the melons fell over, knocking one of the melons off the stump. It rolled away to Sid who put the baby down to grab the melon.

"Retrieve the melon!" the dodo said. "Tae Kwan dodos attack!"

Frida and the others watched as a group of dodos jump up, ready to fight. One of them was completely unprepared because once he tried correcting himself, their attack completely failed as they started kicking each other. They kicked the melon out of the baby's hands, handing it off from dodo to dodo until the last one tossed it off the cliff. Half of the dodos ran after the melon, running off the cliff.

"Do they have any idea what they're doing?" Frida asked as she and Diego watched them

"Look at them", Diego chuckled. "They can't do anything right."

They watched as Sid went in to try and get at least one melon for the baby. The dodos fought him off, tossing the melon over a geyser. Three of the dodos ran to the geyser, trying to keep the melon from falling, but instead all three of them, and the melon fell in.

"The last melon", the dodos gasped.

Frida, Diego and Manny watched as the dodos attacked Sid who held the melon. Sid threw the melon to Manny who held it up high with his trunk. One dod got behind Manny and bit his tail, making him toss the melon in the air as he screamed in pain.

"Manny!" Frida gasped.

They watched as Sid caught the melon. He was surrounded by the entire flock of dodos. The baby started whining. He was hungry and Sid was his hope at getting food. Frida looked at Diego feeling a bit worried.

"Think he'll make it?" she asked.

"Knowing him, I doubt it", Manny said. "He can't even take care of himself."

He was proven wrong as Sid held the melon close and charged through the dodos. The three of them watched surprised Sid was able to do such a thing. Sid jumped over the rest of the dodos, making everyone watch in awe. When he touched back down on the ground, they cheered knowing the dodos lost the melon fair and square.

"Unbelievable!" Frida smiled.

Sid smiled and did a victory dance. He jumped into the air and slammed the melon down to the ground, breaking it. Everyone frowned looking at the spoiled food.

"Aw, Sid!" Diego said. "Now we got to find more food!"

Diego stopped when they saw the baby picking up a piece of the melon and ate the inside of it. They smiled knowing the baby would be satisfied with that.

"More to the right!"

Their attention was drawn to a pile of dodos Sid made walking by, trying to keep balance.

"Hey look at that", Manny joked. "Dinner and a show."

They watched as the dodos walked toward the cliff, all of them falling to their deaths. Diego walked to the cliff to see how far the bodies were. He looked at Frida and nodded in the cliff's direction.

"Hungry?" he asked. "Food's right down there."

Frida looked at him untrusting. Her stomach growled, making her ears flatten. She did need to eat sometime. Frida nodded and went with Diego to eat some of the dodos.


	10. Pet

Frida followed Diego down the hill to get food. For once, she was actually smiling at him.

"I'm so excited!" she said. "I'm finally hunting!"

"Hunting?" Diego chuckled. "Pet, this isn't hunting. It's scavenging."

Frida stopped in her tracks looking at him. Pet? Why did he just call her that. Diego noticed how quiet it got and noticed she stopped following him. He looked back to see her looking at him confused.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"Why did you call me pet?" Frida asked. "I'm not your pet."

Diego shook his head with a sigh.

"You are a pet. You're a pet to those humans. It's not natural."

"What do you mean?" she asked following him. "I spent nearly my whole life with those humans. They've been nothing but good to me."

"It's that why you want to return to them?" he asked. "you want to go back to being a useless pet."

"Useless?"

"You think this is hunting", Diego explained. "Haven't you ever been on a hunt before?"

"Well...no..."

Frida looked down embarassed knowing she had just proven his point. He looked at her and said nothing more as they walked to where the dead dodos lay.

"Go ahead and help yourself", Diego said.

"Aren't we going to cook these over a fire or something?" Frida asked.

"Cook animals over a fire?" he asked.

"That's what the humans always fed me."

Diego rolled his eyes shaking his head.

"Look, pet", he said. "Real sabers don't live with humans. Real sabers don't eat cooked meat. You don't have any humans to protect you, so I suggest you start acting like a real saber."

He walked off and started to eat. Frida watched him feeling hurt he didn't consider her a real saber. He was right. She had lived with the humans so long, she forgot what it was like to be a real saber. She didn't know where to start if she wanted to be one. Diego looked at her and sighed.

"Look, pet", he said. "Why don't you just come here and eat. You need it."

Frida looked at him and walked toward the dodo and watched as he just bit into it. She looked at the dodo and sighed. She closed her eyes and bit into its body eating the meat raw. It was different than cooked meat, but it wasn't half bad.

* * *

By the time the group rejoined, Diego was already full and sleepy. Frida watched as he laid down to sleep while Manny and Sid were taking care of the baby. Sid was changing the baby and was not enjoying it.

"Hey, poop checker", Manny said. "What's the report?"

Sid held his nose as he picked up the baby's used diaper.

"Bury that thing nice and deep now", Manny said. "We don't need any cave bears sniffing around."

"That's it", Sid said pointing to the baby. "No more fruit for you, mister."

The baby giggled as he watched Sid take the diaper out of the area. Manny picked him up and wrapped him in his trunk.

"Bedtime, squirt."

Manny laid down with the baby in his trunk and watched as Frida walked over to him. She nuzzled the baby, purring.

"Goodnight, Roshan", she said and licked his forehead.

Frida laid down and looked back at Diego who was already asleep. Although he seemed nice, she still didn't trust him when it came to the baby. Oh well, he was asleep now. Not much he could do now. She let out a growling yawn and closed her eyes.


	11. Diego's Plan

Diego was waiting for everyone to fall asleep. The sloth kept moving and making noises, keeping Manny awake. Frida was already sound asleep. By the time Sid finally stopped moving and making noises, Manny had fallen asleep as well. Diego opened his eyes, using his night vision, making them glow green.

He looked around making sure everyone was asleep. Diego approached the baby who was safely tucked in Manny's trunk. He reached his paw over the baby with his claws out ready to grab it. Diego gasped and pulled back when he heard a noise. He rolled his eyes seeing it was just Sid snoring. He turned back to the baby and reached out with his claws ready. Diego stopped as he heard a noise in the distance, making Manny move in his sleep.

Diego growled and looked up to the hill surrounding the group and noticed the bushes were moving. He growled and jumped over the hill to attack whoever might've been there.

"What the…?" he said surprised to see Zeke.

"Go ahead", he said. "Slice me. It'll be the last thing you ever do."

"I'm working here, you waste of fur."

"Frustrated, Diego?" Oscar asked approaching them. "Tracking down helpless infants and females too difficult for you?"

"What are you two doing here?" Diego asked.

"Soto's getting tired of waiting", Oscar said.

"Yeah, yeah", Zeke said. "He said come back with the baby and the female, or don't come back at all!"

Diego frowned as Zeke began laughing crazily.

"Well, I have a message for Soto", he said. "Tell him I'm bringing the baby and the female. And tell him I'm bringing a mammoth."

"A mammoth?" Zeke gasped.

"Mammoths never travel alone", Oscar said trying to disprove Diego's claim.

"Well, this one does", Diego said showing them. "And I'm leading him to Half Peak."

"Mm", Zeke murmured as he looked at the group. "Look at all that meat. Let's get him!"

He jumped over the hill to attack, but Diego jumped in front of him, stopping him.

"Not yet! We'll need the whole pack to bring this mammoth down. Get everyone ready. Now!"

The two tigers looked at Diego before turning and leaving. Diego looked back feeling what he guessed was guilt. He was getting to know Manny and Sid. It was going to be a shame once they got to Half Peak. And Frida. She was so innocent. She was just a cub on the inside. She would not do well with Soto.

Diego walked back to the group and laid down to get some sleep. They had a long walk tomorrow. He looked over to notice Frida began shivering as the wind started to blow. It was another first for her. She spent most of her life sleeping in those human huts, she had forgotten what it was like to sleep in the open space. Diego looked at her as he curled up on the ground and went to sleep.

The night quickly passed and soon morning came. Manny's eyes opened as the sun rose. He moved his trunk and gasped when he noticed the baby was gone. He immediately turned to Diego who was sleeping across from him. Manny stomped to Diego, waking him and Frida.

"Where's the baby?" he asked.

"You lost it?" Diego asked.

"Where's Sid?" Frida asked noticing he was gone too.

The three of them glared putting two and two together.

"SID!"


	12. Sid and Sylvia

"That sloth is an idiot", Frida growled as she and Diego looked for Sid and the baby.

Manny went off in a direction to look for Sid and the baby, leaving Frida and Diego on their own. Right now, the two of them were looking around, unsure of where Sid could've taken the baby or why. They walked into an area filled with mud pools.

"So now what?" Frida asked. "You're the tracker, why can't you find them?"

"It would be easier if we weren't surrounded by this…filth!" Diego said.

"Yeah right", she murmured. "Tracker, my butt…"

He rolled his eyes and continued looking. They spent quite a while looking for Sid and the baby because by the late morning-early afternoon, Sid came running toward them.

"Oh thank goodness", he panted. "Thank goodness."

Diego and Frida watched as Sid turned away and started yelling. To who, they didn't know.

"Oh no! A tiger! Help! Help!"

"Where's the baby?" Diego asked.

"Oh he's fine", Sid said in a hurry. "Manfred has him. Just put me in your mouth. Come on, hurry. Oh, he got me! Oh…help!"

"Get away from me", Diego said turning away.

Frida and Sid heard what sounded like a female voice coming toward them.

"_I'm coming, Sid baby! Hold on!"_

"Who's that?" Frida asked.

"Sylvia", he said in disgust.

She was about to ask who Sylvia was, but Sid took off running. He stopped behind Diego and kicked him, enraging the saber. Diego turned and bit down. Frida could see he didn't bite down hard because Sid was still alive. They turned to see a female sloth with red fur and messy hair.

"Sid!" she gasped seeing him in Diego's mouth.

"Oh, Sylvia", Sid said lifting his head. "I lo…lo…"

He went limp in Diego's mouth. Frida looked at Silvia who looked at Sid closely. Her grief quickly went away as she gasped.

"I see you breathing", she said.

Frida turned to see Sid stop moving, trying to play dead.

"Are you holding your breath?" Sylvia asked.

They watched Sid expose himself. He was trying to hold his breath and couldn't much longer. He took a deep breath, making Sylvia glare. She looked at Diego, making him look away nervously. Angry females were never a good thing.

"Eat him", Sylvia frowned as she turned and left.

Frida and Diego watched as Sid lifted his head.

"Quite the charmer, aren't you?" she asked.

"Oh gosh, I hate breaking their hearts like that", Sid sighed. "But you know how it is."

He turned to walk away, but Diego kept his teeth clenched around Sid's neck.

"Alright, thanks", Sid said. "You can put me down now."

He tried to pull himself free, but Diego kept his jaw shut. Sid began panicking when Diego wouldn't let go.

"M-Manny!" he yelled. "Manny!"

"Guys, I thought we were in a hurry?" Manny asked as he approached them. "Diego spit that out. You don't know where it's been."

Diego opened his jaw, setting Sid free.

"Boy, for a second there, I actually thought you were going to eat me."

"I don't eat junk food", Diego smoothly said as he turned, joining Manny.

"I thought you were going to", Sid laughed. "I thought you were going to…were you?"

Frida shook her head as she walked alongside Diego.

"That was a pretty mean joke", she said. "Do you do that often?"

"Not really", Diego said. "I never get the chance to do that. If you tried that in a pack, they'd maul you in a second."

"Living in a pack sounds so cruel", she looked away. "Why do you live in one?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I was raised in a pack. A pack is where sabers like us belong."

Frida shook her head.

"You belong in a pack, or so you say. I belong with the humans."

* * *

_lol if you don't recognize Sylvia, go watch the deleted scenes_


End file.
